“I was very saddened to hear about Bobby’s passing this morning,” said Valenzuela. “He was a great teammate and friend. I’ll always be grateful for his influence on my pitching. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”

From 1977-1981, Castillo appeared in 138 games for Los Angeles, including a career-high 61 in 1980. He was member of the 1981 Championship team and made one appearance in both the NLCS against the Expos and the World Series against they Yankees.

In January of 1982, the Dodgers traded Castillo to the Twins. In three seasons in Minnesota, he won 23 games and posted a 3.98 ERA.

After the 1985 seasons, Castillo was granted free agency and re-signed with Los Angeles. He pitched 35 games for the Dodgers that season, going 2-2 with a 5.43 ERA. The Dodgers released Castillo the following year on April 2, just five days before the start of the season.

Through he would never pitch in the major leagues again, Castillo did play two more seasons professionally. In 1986, at age 31 he went to the Mexican League where he pitched a year for Monterrey. The following year, his last as a pro, he pitched for the Chunichi Dragons in the Japanese Central League.

Castillo is survived by his mother, Nellie, his daughter, Mellanie, his daughter, Sara, and her husband, Andrew Sanchez, his son Robert III, and his sister, Lorraine, and her husband, Peter Gonzalez. Castillo had three nieces and nephews, nine grand nieces and nephews and two grandchildren, Jackson and Lila.

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Jim Smiley is in his 21st year covering Major League Baseball in Southern California. For 16 of those years, Jim covered the Dodgers and Angels while working for ESPN SportsTicker, reporting on every post-season series in which either team was involved. Jim has also reported from the Winter Meetings and the World Baseball Classic. He is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and a lifetime member of both the Minor League Baseball Alumni Association (MiLBAA) and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA). As a featured guest, Jim has offered his expertise on ESPN’s Mint Condition, and on radio shows coast to coast. In 2014, Jim gained lifetime membership to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Please visit Facebook.com/DodgersExaminer.